Getting back to topic (Thanks for laughs @ChristopherReevesLegs :D):
Top 12 : Gustav Nyquist, Andreas Athanasiou, Justin Abdelkader, Luke Glendening, Henrik Zetterberg, Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen, Darren Helm, Tomas Tatar, Anthony Mantha, Little Bert, Luke Witkowski
Top 6 D (no particular order): Trevor Daley, Mike Green, Nick Jensen, Dan DeKeyser, Niklas Kronwall, Xavier Ouellet
Goalies: Jimmy Howard, Petr Mrazek
IR: Jonathan Ericsson, Ryan Sproul, Johan Franzen
Healthy Scratches: Martin Frk, , Big Dylan, Riley Sheahan
With the moves and drafts Holland made I can see him going with the big bodies more this season. It might be a little early for Bertuzzi but he would fit this strategy. So just for the sake of having someone different in the lineup I put him there. I also don't see Coreau up with the Wings, he'll probably tending the goal in GR until Mrazek or Howard are injured or traded.

I mostly agree with your post, but not with this paragraph. As was already mentioned here defenseman have a different life cycle than forwards.For example Sproul is only 24, in two or three years he might be as serviceable as Daley, if not more. We just need to be a little bit more patient.

Yeah, that was my guess why they signed him. Just for the case Coreau is needed at the big club. Maybe there is even a trade in the making for Howard or Mrazek but after today I highly doubt it.
The trade ok with me, we get a veteran AHL backup/fringe starter we know very well for a conditional 7th rounder. It's not like Holland sold the farm for McCollum.

Makes sense. Looks like Blash and Kenny think this is an area that is crucial for their system and addressing the lack of it accordingly. In the draft and obviously in FA too. I'm excited to see how it works out.

It's acceptable, if Kronner or any other defenseman isn't going to play for a big chunk of the season. I like his skillset and what I read about his locker room presence.
I also don't have a problem with the NTC, it's what you pay for a relatively cheap contract for a 33y old defenseman.

The only reason reasons signing a defenseman in our position are
a. you want to move Green (at the deadline)
b. you want to flip you acquisition (at the deadline).
And even in case a. it's a bad idea so sign one. If you're a seller at trade deadline anyway there is no need for another veteran anchoring the D.
Only defenseman that would be acceptable to me is Kulikov. 26 years, should be a reasonable offensive D-man but had big injury problems. It would be a high risk high reward move that could pan out like Vanek or could maybe even stay as a bridge gap and a veteran presence once our kids are ready.

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